On my recent visit with my paternal grandmother, she told me the story of seeing her first airplane. Her grandfather Haley (William H Haley) grew tobacco as so many Virginian farmers did. Grandmom and her cousins would earn money by de-worming the tobacco in the fields. I have never worked in a tobacco field, but I cannot imagine that de-worming tobacco is easy work! On this occasion Grandmom earned 50 cents. She used her earnings to pay for the gas in the car to travel to Green's Folly to see her first airplane. Every time she tells this story, she still shakes her head in amazement at what she saw that day.
Note: Green's Folly is a historic house/estate located in Halifax County, VA. Over the years it has been an estate, a courthouse, and a racetrack. Currently it is a golf course.
It's wonderful that your grandmother is still around to recount that memory. You didn't mention how old she was or what year it was. Did she describe the airplane? Was it on the ground or in flight? What a great, short post.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother always said that airplanes and air flight were the biggest changes she saw in her lifetime (1897-1990) She traveled by steamship to Ellis Island as a teenager, and thought that was a great journey! By the time she died man had walked on the moon (several times). Thanks for sharing your post, it brought back some great memories of my grandmother!
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